


Little Things

by heartbreakpie



Category: One Direction (Band), Thumbelina (1994), Thumbelina - All Media Types, Tommelise | Thumbelina - Hans Christian Andersen
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fae & Fairies, Fairy Harry, Fairy Tale Retellings, Fluff, M/M, Magic, OT4, Smol Louis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-18
Updated: 2016-07-07
Packaged: 2018-07-15 20:40:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7237621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartbreakpie/pseuds/heartbreakpie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was once a woman who planted a barleycorn, not much unlike the ones you'd find in a farmer's field. Very soon there grew a large handsome flower, something like a tulip in appearance, but with its leaves tightly closed as if it were still a bud.</p><p>The woman kissed its blue leaves every morning and every night until one day the flower opened. To her surprise, upon the green velvet stamens, sat a very delicate and graceful little man who was only scarcely half as long as a thumb.</p><p>Louis was used to being one-of-a-kind, finding his way inside a big world that didn't know exactly what to do with him. But his life of careful, quiet solitude left much to the imagination. Until one night, when a flicker of light snuck in through his open window and offered him the chance to see the world in a whole new way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Barleycorn Boy

Louis would never in a million years admit that the reason he was lying on his back at the bottom of an empty teapot was because of a damn spider.

Normally, someone being frightened of a tiny insect would be considered quite pathetic. However, if the person in question so happened to be the size of a thumb, it did tend to make things slightly more complicated.

Even still, Louis did not want to give anyone the impression that he was frightened of anything at all. He was certainly agile on his feet and rather quick-witted for someone who was born fully-formed from a flower blossom, so he figured he could take any creature on in combat if he had to.

Today, he just didn't feel like it.

Whenever his mother and sisters arrived home from their visit to town, Louis would just tell them he was _finding his inner peace and quiet_ so not to cause anyone alarm. His mother was already so diligent at her spring cleaning, she'd be devastated to know a rogue daddy long legs escaped her rigorous routine. He didn't want to give her another reason to overprotect him either.

Louis watched the ceiling fan spin through the small circular opening above him until, finally, the sound of the door slamming shut reverberated off the china around him.

"Louis?" He heard his mother call to him as she rummaging through shopping bags at the door.

"I'm here!" Louis shouted back with relief. He began to monkey-climb out of the teapot, looked both ways for any signs of the spider, then shimmied out of the spout and onto the kitchen table.

"'Bout time you lot got back. I was just having meself a little peace and..." Louis started to say until he caught sight of his mother holding something absolutely atrocious in front of him. "What the _hell_ is that?"

But Louis knew exactly what it was. It was obvious: a tiny pair of suede lederhosen made for a doll. He recognized the village toymaker's crest stamped on the tags that dangled from the hem. A spider nearly killed him and now his mother was trying to dress him in dolls clothes. Today was certainly not turning out to be his best.

"It'll be autumn soon," his mother began explaining. "We thought they might be festive."

"We?" Louis could tell that she was excited about it, but shook his head incredulously. "I'd never wear that."

His mother frowned. "But the girls picked them out."

Louis leaned over and caught sight of his sisters hiding behind the kitchen door. Lottie, the eldest, merely shrugged in silent apology while Daisy, Phoebe, and Felicity covered their snickering faces behind the doorframe. Louis narrowed his eyes at them before turning back to his mother.

"I just thought it might be nice for you to have something new for a change. You're a hard one to buy for, Louis," his Mother continued, oblivious to the giggling daughters behind her. "So particular."

Louis laughed out loud. Particular was certainly one way to put it.

"Let me come with you next time then," he offered. "You can put me in your pocket and I'll just pick something out myself."

His mother tutted, clicking her tongue behind her teeth disapprovingly. "Maybe another time. Maybe when you're..."

"When I'm what?" Louis snapped suddenly. "Older? Wiser? I'm not getting any bigger, of that's what you're getting at."

He crossed his arms and looked up at the hurt look on his mother's face, feeling his cheeks grow hot with guilt. From the corner of his eye, he saw his sisters slip away from the door one by one and disappear, except for Lottie who frowned back at him, leaning her head solemnly against the wood.

Louis didn't want to get into another row, least of all with his mother. But for a barleycorn boy like him, it was always an uphill battle trying to convince anyone to let him do anything at all. To them, he was too small, too precious, too unfit for the harsh realities of a great, big world. But Louis was determined not to believe it. He could do things just like everyone else, he just needed to be given the chance.

*

After his mother left to tend to the girls, Louis sensed Lottie lingering around behind him. Out of everyone, Lottie understood him he most and he was grateful for her, even if there wasn't much she could do about it.

Louis didn't turn to face her but he could tell she was concerned by her deliberate silence and the way she shuffled her feet back and forth without really moving.

"Would you take me to the window?" Louis asked her, more so to break the silence than needing help. After a moment, he felt her fingers pick him up by the scruff of his shirt and place him on to the open palm of her hand.

"Was that really necessary, Louis? Picking a fight over nothing." Lottie asked as they made their way across the house to the large bay window. She placed her hand down flat so Louis could hop off onto the sill, then she leaned down on her elbows and rested her head in her hands beside him. "She's just trying, you know."

"I know!" Louis responded, "It's not even that." He looked out the window at the endless row of wild fields. "Do you think there's something wrong with me? Besides the obvious, that is." He chuckled humourlessly.

"You always ask me this, Louis..."

"Do you?"

Lottie sighed and gave him her automatic response. "Of course not." But just like every other time, Louis didn't believe her. There never seems to be any evidence to convince him otherwise.

The fading light was buttery against the horizon, melting across the fields that made up the quaint countryside. The air hung thickly around, carrying the last of August's haze before September swept in and stole the summer away.  Somehow the view from the top of the hill made Louis feel bigger, like he could see and be a part of everything for once in his life. It was a small consolation for his tony stature, but he liked the windowsill for that reason. The world seemed to open up to him just a little bit more from up here. 

Louis and Lottie watched the sun disappear behind the faraway hills in silence until the first of the evening stars made themselves known.

Once it was fully dark, and Lottie started to yawn, she went to lock the window for the night. Louis leaped up to stop her, grabbing hold of her thumb with his arms.

"Leave it open, please. Just for tonight."

Lottie looked down at her brother and sighed. "Mum really doesn't like it when I..."

"Please?" Louis pleaded. "Just a crack. I promise I'll push it shut before she wakes up tomorrow."

"I can explain the window blowing open to Mum, but I won't be able to explain it if she finds you down in the gardens tomorrow morning because some toad kidnapped you for their supper."

Louis snorted. "C'mon now, Lot. You know I could take on a toad."

Lottie chuckled as she undid the latch and let the old wooden window frame creak open a few more inches. Just enough so the cool evening air swept in around Louis, carrying the dewy, refreshing smell of tall grass and wild fragrant gardens. He couldn't help but close his eyes and lean into it.

"Night, Louis..."

"Night, Lot."

The full moon was in full force tonight, which meant it was bright enough to keep Louis awake a little while longer. The boredom that followed him around all day like a shadow didn't seem so crushing during the night, when the blanketed darkness made all the noises louder and lights more luminous around him.

Louis liked to stay up and pretend he was somewhere else, or even someone else entirely. Like someone who didn't sleep in a hallowed out walnut shell with a blanket made from the tip of a sock. Or had his bedroom at the base of a flowerpot that also housed the barleycorn to which he was born.

Louis hated the flower. It just reminded him of being fragile, being small. Being different. He looked up at the barleycorn that towered above him, casting its long shadow across the wooden windowsill in the moonlight. It wasn't even an attractive plant. It was blue, but rough like a husk. Not a flower that would draw any attention to itself among the other flora in a garden. There was nothing special about it at all from the outside, except for the fact that it just so happened to have a boy inside of it and decided to spit him out one day into a world that didn't know what to do with him.

He knew his mother kept the barleycorn for sentimental reasons, but also because she still wasn't sure how it managed to produce a tiny, nearly full grown son. She watered it daily and kept its leaves trimmed. Maybe she was concerned it would blossom again and give her more tiny children, but so far it had only been Louis.

Louis figured it was the same thing as keeping the girls' baby clothes. Something to remind her how small they used to be. But in Louis's case he never changed. He had always stayed the same 5 inches and 9 millimetres he'd always been.

Louis found the blueberry he had stashed away n the flowerpot and brought it out. He was due to practice his footwork and it was the closest thing he had to a football. At least at night, he wouldn't have anybody hovering over him telling him to be careful, be mindful of falling down a crevice.

He scurried into the centre of the windowsill and tossed the blueberry ahead of him, chasing after it and trying to weave it between his feet with his arms outstretched and his pinky fingers pointed straight to keep proper balance. Unfortunately for him, however, this blueberry was a few days old and had lost much of its bounce. It wasn't even all that round anymore, but soft and sagging on the sides giving it an lumpy shape that wasn't particularly helpful for his technique. He would have to remember to ask his Lottie to fetch him an unripened one from the garden in the morning.

Ask Lottie. Ask his mother. Louis kicked the blueberry harder, frustrated with the barriers and permissions that had him tied him up at all sides.

He lifted his leg and brought it down for a final hard kick, but the rotten thing flopped to one side and Louis stepped directly onto it instead. His foot sunk right into the wet pulpy centre with a loud squish.

"Just brilliant!" Louis yelled into the quiet house as he hopped about on one foot, trying to shake it free of the other one. He cursed up and down the windowsill until the berry flew off his foot and splattered onto the window glass. He'll just add it to the long list of the annoyances he encountered today and call it a night.

Louis grumbled to himself as he made his way to his little walnut bed and kicked at the stem of the barleycorn for good measure. He was much too frustrated in that moment to focus on anything other than his blue-stained foot and his pathetic little life.

Through his cloud of self-pity, Louis didn't hear the sudden creak in the window as it was pushed opened just a little bit wider. He didn't see the twinkle of light passing by the glass as something slipped in through the opening and fluttered right past him into the house.


	2. The Fairy Prince

Louis heard the laughter first. Something between a breathy, childish giggle and a lowly chuckle skipped around him through the quiet room.

Nestled in his walnut bed, he froze in place at the strange, sudden sound. He brought his blanket, made from the corner of a old kerchief, up to hide his face so that only his blue eyes could be seen scanning the room cautiously for signs of movement.

But there was nothing there.

Louis exhaled, believing for a short moment that perhaps he had just imagined it. The night had a way of playing strange tricks on people, he knew that all too well.

But then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flicker of light in the reflection of the windowpane. His head snapped towards it, just in time to witness something like a spark, but softer, flit across the glass.

He gripped the sides of the blanket anxiously and tried to sink further into the shell and waited. When no other sound came, Louis slowly got up from his bed and made his way towards the window in the hopes of closing it. He could call for help, make Lottie or his mother take a look, but he would feel awfully stupid if it ended up just being an overactive wind.

Louis scurried over to the window. He noticed  had been pushed open much wider than he remembered. If there was something in the house now, it was surely much bigger than him and he was likely doomed. No. It had to be the wind, he convinced himself.

A cool summer breeze whistled through the opening, blowing his hair back away from his forehead. With his heart racing, Louis pushed on the wooden pane to close it, but then he paused. The air around him smelled suddenly like flowers, sweet and earthy and wild. He couldn't help but inhale deeply and then...

"Hallo there!"

Louis spun himself around so quickly his head smashed against the window frame with a loud crack, making a galaxy of stars explode in his eyes.

"Bloody _hell,_ " he shouted, gripping his forehead to calm the searing throb in his skull. Blinking rapidly, he heard the same laughter ring out again, bubbly and soft like a trill of gentle music.

"Oh! Didn't mean to startle you."

Louis shook his head a few times until the room came back into view and glared ahead of him. The pain in his head snuffed out most of his fear and left a bout of angry adrenaline in its stead. He wanted at the culprit who had nearly shattered his brain into a million little pieces.

Louis looked up around and then up and found him immediately: taller than Louis for certain, but miniscule all the same, there was a tiny boy was perched gingerly on top of his barleycorn. He stared down at Louis with his elbows rested on his knees, looking like mischief incarnate.

The boy was sat on the velvet stamen, letting his feet dangle off the open petals. He wore rather plain clothes, a short sleeved shirt and tight trousers, with a pair of fine black leather boots that went up to his shin. His hair was wild atop his head, sticking up in short curls that twirled in nearly every direction.

Louis couldn't help but stare at him for a beat longer than necessary, watching the way the boy beamed down at him with a smile almost too big for his face and his eyes sparkling like the stars. Even from far below where he stood, Louis could make out the sharp indent of a dimple in the boy's left cheek.

"Who are you?" Louis mumbled. It was really all he could manage. He was utterly unsure of what to do with his hands, his legs, his body. Unsure if he was dreaming or hallucinating or what in the hell he was looking at. He'd never seen another Lilliputian before. He'd never seen anyone or anything even remotely close to his size in all his life. And yet, here he was.

Louis wobbled on his feet, suddenly too dizzy to stand. He reached out to grab hold of the windowpane beside him, but missed and lurched forward unsteadily. The boy leaped down from the flower immediately. Or rather, he seemed to float down somehow because Louis didn't hear him at all until he appeared suddenly beside him. His hands, decorated in many silver rings, wrapped themselves gently around Louis' arms and lifted him up to his feet.

"I'm fine. Thanks." Louis said shortly, wrenching his one arm free from the boy's gentle grip and standing himself upright. Despite the blur still lingering behind his vision, Louis could make out the boy's face mere inches from his own.

The sweet smell of flowers was stronger than ever, as if the boy himself had just been plucked from the earth by his roots. Eye-level with the boy's pink lips, Louis watched them turn up at the corners in a little smile, clearly finding his little bout of attitude amusing. Louis wasn't sure if he should feel proud or offended by this polite display from such a stranger.

"I am sorry. For barging in like that," the boy muttered kindly. He ran his free hand through his hair, the other one still dutifully holding onto one of Louis' elbows for support. Louis met his eyes and saw that the boy was still smiling somehow, his whole face lit up and sparkling like a Christmas tree.

Louis scoffed. "Well, generally when someone is truly sorry they aren't making a face like that."

The boy quickly stepped back and wiped the smile off his face. He literally did so with the side of his arm as if he needed to physically remove it with a motion. Louis glowered at him. Not because he was upset or anything, but because it was his natural reaction to start acting like a piss ant whenever threatened or uncomfortable. In fact, he was quite enraptured by seeing another tiny person at all, but he would rather not let _him_ know that.

Louis watched the boys eyes flit over his face and shoulders until his smile wavered and his eyebrows furrowed slightly like he was suddenly confused.

"What's the matter?" Louis asked. He felt himself leaning forward as if to move towards him, but caught himself.

"Nothing," the boy responded quickly. "I just thought you were..." He stopped talking and waved his hands like it was nothing important. "It's nothing."

Then Louis finally noticed the wings on his back. Wings. Large and wide and nearly transparent, like paper tissue in the light of the moon glowing from behind them. Louis suddenly felt ridiculous not having noticed them before now. The detail was exquisite, little veins of shimmering light ran across them like delicate thread. Somehow, the iridescent colouring kept changing in front of his eyes, like a kaleidoscope, depending on the angle of the boy's willowy body.

"Why do you have those?" Louis blurted out. He could barely stop himself from reaching out to touch them before the boy turned back around.

The boy responded with a coy tilt of his head. "I'm a fairy," he said plainly like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Louis shrugged, trying to stay nonchalant about the whole thing, but his insides were rattling like an existential earthquake. "Never heard of 'em."

"The name's Harry," the fairy said, reaching his hand out towards Louis. He kept his body upright and proud while Louis felt his shoulders hunch over self-consciously.

When Louis didn't grab his hand right away, Harry pulled his away and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well," he chuckled. He reached around to rub the back of his neck. "Sorry again, for, uh, bothering you. I'll let you get back to...uh, back to it then."

He did a little spin on his heel and headed over to the opening in the window.

Fairies. _Fairies_? Louis paused for a millisecond before running after him. "Wait!"

Harry turned around, the angle of his face catching the moonlight in such a way, he looked nearly painted onto the backdrop of the night sky.

"I'm Louis. And I..." he stuttered, "I live here. And I've never met anything...I've never seen anything like...and I'm? I'm _just_..." the sentences tumbled out of him like pebbles falling uncontrollably down a hill and landed every which way. It was rightfully mortifying, but he didn't care. He didn't want Harry to leave just yet.

"Hallo Lou," Harry said. His deep, calm voice cut through Louis' frantic verbal flailing and grounded everything immediately. "Can I call you Lou? I rather like it."

Louis nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak again just yet, so he focused on breathing instead.

"I saw you through the window and, well, I saw you with that." Harry pointed to the smashed blueberry in the corner of the windowsill. "I thought it looked fun." 

"You saw me playing footy with my blueberry through the window?" Louis blushed. "But how did you see...?"

A sudden buzz outside the window made Louis jump back. Harry spun around and groaned. "I'm surprised she lasted this long, to be honest.." he said under his breath.

Louis almost took a step backwards, but Harry was too quick and took him by the hand. "Come. You should say hi or there will be hell to pay. She's a jealous one, my Georgia."

"Georgia?" Louis followed Harry to the open window with unease. He didn't quite like the sound of a _Georgia_ , though he wasn't sure exactly why.

"Whoa, whoa there m'lady!" Harry walked out onto the window ledge slowly with his arms. His voice rang out strong and assertively as he moved towards an enormous bumblebee who was bucking and buzzing aggressively in the corner of the window. 

Louis' breath caught in his throat. This was not what he was expecting at all. Spiders were one thing. He'd seen his fair share of house flies, and even a trail of ants here and there, whenever his sisters left the sugar out, but a bumblebee was an entirely different story. Louis hid himself slightly behind the window frame.

The breeze swished at Harry's brown mop of curls, blowing it back from his face as he stepped outside onto the windowsill. The bumblebee reared up happily to see him, humming so loudly Louis could feel it vibrating the glass in front of him. Louis watched as Harry got up close and calmed down the bumblebee gentle with a scratch on her head, whispering into her ear until she settled.

"Don't worry. She's not always so fitful," Harry assured him, "Are you, love?" he said to the bee, nuzzling his forehead into her downy stripes. Harry laughed casually, and looked over at Louis to join him, but Louis must have looked about as pale and unprepared as he felt because Harry's face turned suddenly serious.

"Are you alright?" he asked. His eyes traveled across Louis' face trying to read him. "What's wrong?"

Louis couldn't take his eyes off the giant insect or the beautiful fairy staring at him in front of it. He couldn't quite wrap his head around anything at the moment. Everything was making his head spin.

"Lou, have you not seen a bumble before?"

Louis didn't respond. He didn't want to admit to the fact that he had never seen anything outside of the four walls of the cottage before. That he didn't know about fairies. That he had no real life experience at all outside of a blueberry for a football and a walnut bed.

Any minute Harry would laugh at him again. Incredulous chuckling at the pathetic life of one Tiny Lou. If he had more self-worth maybe he'd storm back inside and leave him on his own. But he couldn't because it was still the most exciting thing to happen to him and, even if it made him feel even smaller than he already was, he didn't really want any of it to end. Louis looked down at his bare feet and waited for the laughter to come. But it didn't.

Instead, out of nowhere, Harry's voice appeared by his ear, his body suddenly shadowing the moonlight as he moved up close to Louis so that he could feel his breath on his cheek.  

"Louis." Harry said with the same gentle kindness he'd shown him all evening, no hint of laughter on his voice. Harry tipped Louis' chin up with his finger to meet his eyes. "Have you _never_ _even_ been flying?"

The green irises in front of him sparkled with a thrilling invitation. Louis' inexperience must have been obvious enough, because Harry's face split open into a wide cheshire grin. He moved his hands down to Louis' waist and squeezed his sides, shaking Louis excitedly in response. Louis' skin jumped at the sudden touch and he let out an involuntary laugh.

"That settles it then. Give me a moment to prepare Georgia!" Harry let go of Louis and skipped over to the now docile bumblebee.

Louis held onto the window frame, his palms getting moist with excitement. The world looked infinitely larger on the other side of the glass, the indigo sky deeper, the world intoxicatingly wild. He tossed a quick glance over his shoulder at the quiet, peaceful cottage behind him where his family slept soundly. He'd be back by morning, surely, and no one would be the wiser.

From out on the ledge, Harry reached his hand out towards him and and Louis' heart leaped.

"You ready Lou?"


	3. flight of the bumblebee

Harry gazed over at Louis and tried to bite back his incessant smile. He really didn't know what had gotten into him tonight, but everything this tiny stranger was doing was making him grin to the point of looking completely insane.

He only ever lit up like this when he was truly excited and, despite his best attempts to play it cool, his wings kept twinkling with sparks that were anything but subtle. The discovery of a small wingless boy on a windowsill had his curiosity entirely piqued, and his "fairy magic" (or whatever biological curse his species tried to play it off as) was showing it.

Thankfully, it seemed like Louis didn't know the different between a normal, everyday fairy and one who was having a small emotional crisis over a pair of ocean blue eyes, so Harry thought himself safe from being outed. At least for now.

"You sure you want to do this?" he asked Louis, who was tiptoeing so slowly towards him it was like he was trying not to disturb the stars above.

"Yes, a thousand times yes," Louis sounded very much like he was still trying to convince himself. Harry noticed that he was keeping his eyes up towards the sky, fixated on anything besides the long drop off the ledge into the garden below.

"Good," Harry wasn't sure what else to say. He wanted to reach out and graze his hand against Louis' arm to encourage him, but stopped himself. They were strangers after all. And Harry wasn't even certain what Louis _was_ \- a fairy without wings wasn't exactly a fairy. But if not, then what? A hobgoblin? A wee garden gnome? None of those seemed likely. From the delicate dip of his wrists to the wispy sweep of his fringe across his forehead, Louis was far too lovely. He just could not put his finger on what he could be.

Harry suddenly realized he'd been staring at Louis for a pathetic amount of time. "Alright then! All set?" He clapped his hands briskly and tried to resume his master class in acting far more casual than he felt.

Georgia bucked up on her hind legs at the noise and Louis cowered, making a high sound like a scared mouse, and throwing his hands over his head.

"It's okay!" Harry urged him. "Here." Harry took Louis' hand and placed it on the bumblebee's side, letting him run the soft coat of fuzz through his fingers. "See? Harmless."

"Uh huh..." Louis didn't seem all that convinced, but he kept petting Georgia until they both seemed more relaxed.

Before Louis could change his mind, Harry leaped forward and lifted him up by the waist, prompting him to swing his leg over the bumblebee and sit on her back. Harry ran behind the bumblebee and climbed up her thorax to settle in behind him. He consciously reminded himself to stay casual and scooted back a bit, leaving a chaste distance between them.

Harry reached in front of him and grabbed onto Georgia's long antennae as Louis sat patiently with his hands clasped in his lap, but Harry could almost see him shaking like a leaf. He contemplated asking Louis one more time if he really wanted to do this, but Louis cut him off.

"What's the hold up, then?" His voice came out wobbly and far too loud, but Harry didn't want to make him feel any more self-conscious by coddling him. He kicked his heels into Georgia's sides, and she reared up, her wings oscillating so rapidly, they became two whirring blurs on either side of them.

As the bumblebee tilted forward into the air, Louis' felt his whole body tense up like it was being tied into a tight knot. He gasped at the sudden weightlessness beneath him as Georgia swooped in and out of the tall grass, gaining speed and descending down the hillside.

Louis clenched his teeth and griped the bumblebee's fur tightly as the wind whipped up into his hair, making his eyes water. The night was clear and bright under the moonlight, and the space around him felt infinite, but it was all happening too fast. He'd never gone any faster than his own legs could carry him, and the sensation was making his head spin.

Louis' stomach leapt high into his throat, and he squeezed his eyes shut, trying desperately to find some semblance of control, something to ground him in the moment so he could actually _enjoy_ it, but he felt nothing but the deafening pound of the wind in his ears that threatened to swallow him whole.

Then, as though he could sense Louis' panic, Harry gently slid one of his arms around Louis' waist and pulled him back closer to him. Louis' eyes flashed open as Harry's voice sounded softly in his ear.

"Relax," he whispered, "I've got you."

"Okay," Louis exhaled gratefully. He let his anxious grip loosen on the bumblebee and leaned back against Harry's chest. The fairy was much taller, and his body enveloped him easily. Somehow being held by Harry made the wind seem less harsh. The world around him came finally into view, as though Harry held all the power of the universe in the crook of his arms.

Louis could suddenly hear the soft cries of the night owls in the distance. Then the trilling melody of crickets swept in, accompanied by the confident baritone of bullfrogs from the water nearby. It was all surprisingly soothing, when it didn't feel like he was going to explode.

When he finally caught his breath again, Louis nearly laughed out loud. It dawned on him that he'd never really been touched before, at least not by anything more than the pinch between a thumb and a forefinger. He'd never known anyone his size that could hold him this way. The _real_ way, like a real, living person and not some funny little novelty that could break at any moment.

With this realization, suddenly the mere flight of a bumblebee seemed like the easy part. Much easier, at least, than the understanding that Louis didn't have to resign to being lonely forever. That maybe there was more possibility out there, even for a little thing like him.

With a spontaneous burst of confidence, Louis lifted his hand up and placed it over Harry's, lacing their fingers together. It was a bold move, certainly, and when Harry did nothing to reciprocate, Louis almost tried to play it off as an accident. But then he felt the brush of Harry's cheek move in beside his, and the soft, musical hum of his laugh against his skin.

"So what do you think?" Harry asked him. His voice came out low and velvety, slipping past his lips and curling around Louis' ear like a ribbon.

"I've never felt anything like it." Louis couldn't be sure if Harry meant the flying or him, but the sentiment was true nonetheless.

"Do you want to steer for a while?" Harry pulled on the single antennae he was holding with his free hand. Georgia slowed down in response and hovered over the shoreline of a shimmering pond like an idling engine.

"You sure?"

"Of course!" Harry insisted, "She's practically on auto pilot anyways."

Louis took hold of both antennae, feeling the strong reverberation of the bee's energy in the palm of his hands.

"Like this?" He pulled on them gently and Georgia responded immediately, picking up speed and gliding over the glass-like water below.

"Yeah. Just like that," Harry said as his voice was swept up in the wind. "I'll hold you still."

"You'll what?"

Harry placed both hands firmly on Louis' waist then, making him jump up in surprise and yank down on the antennae. Georgia swerved dramatically to the side, leaning dangerously close to the surface of the pond.

" _Shit_. Sorry!" Louis called to her as she straightened herself out with a disapproving shake. "l thought you said she was automatic," he muttered, feeling embarrassed.

"Well," the fairy laughed behind him. "Mostly." Harry couldn't help but give Louis' sides another squeeze, making him jump again.

"Don't!" Louis yelped, "I'm concentrating!"

"You think I'd let you fall?" Harry whispered. Louis felt the tickle of his breath against his shoulder.

"I don't know what you would do," he snarked playfully, trying to ease the tension, "I barely know you at all, remember? I'm just using you for your bumblebee."

"At least you're honest!" Harry giggled.

Louis could see the cottage where his family slept up the hill, oblivious to his disappearance. He urged Georgia to go faster. He wanted to go further, as far away from everything he knew until he was completely lost in the night.

"You're a natural," Harry mused fondly, which only made Louis feel braver. He dug his heels into Georgia's sides, urging her to go faster, and lifted himself up so he was leaning forward like a jockey on racing horse.

A sudden gust of wind accelerated them forward with a sweeping push, and Louis couldn't help but shout gleefully into the sky. He let go of the antennae completely, putting both arms out wide and tilted his head back blissfully to face the stars.

"Hey! Be careful, Lou!" Harry shouted. He reached forward to grab hold of the loose antennae and pulled them back just as the bumblebee lost control and toppled head-first into a large garden flower.

Harry and Louis were both thrown from her back with a unified shout. Louis bounced safely onto the stamen while Harry slipped off between the blue petals and had to clamour back up with a flutter of his wings.

"Louis! Are you alright?" Harry yelled as he swooped back up to the top of the flower.

Louis groaned and spit out a mouthful of pollen. "Fantastic, Harry. Thanks for asking." He looked around. "What happened?"

Georgia, wheezing like a deflating balloon, crawled up onto the centre of the blossom beside the two boys and immediately collapsed onto her belly.

"I think you broke her," Harry laughed, petting the panting insect gently.  "She's toast."

"Oh," Louis frowned, "I really didn't mean to. I suppose I got carried away."

"It's probably fine. Let me have a look..." Harry tutted as he surveyed Georgia carefully. "Yes. I do think I know what it is."

"Really? What? What is it?" Louis wrung his hands together anxiously. The last thing he needed was to damage Harry's pet and ruin just about everything that had happened so far.

"It's her knees." The fairy stated solemnly, then cracked a wry smile. "The _bees_ knees!" Harry cackled so loudly he nearly fell back off the edge of the flower again.

Louis stared at him incredulously and tried to process what had just occurred. "I...can't believe I let you kidnap me from my own home with a sense of humour like that." He scrunched up his face and sighed dramatically. "I've made such a terrible mistake!"

"She's fine! Just a tad exerted, Lou." Harry continued to giggle like an adorable fool until his wings sparkled like someone had just plugged him into a power source. Light flickered through the intricate patterns in his wings, following the lines like tiny currents of colourful energy, surging in time with his laughter.

"Hey, your wings," Louis remarked curiously, "they light up when you're happy?"

Harry winked. "Sometimes."

He moved his body back and forth jauntily, like he might be trying to hide his wings from Louis, or maybe he was just showing them off more. Louis couldn't be sure.

"I saw you glowing like that in my window." Louis said. Harry's mouth curled up at the corners with a silent response that made Louis start to feel scared again. Well, excited and scared since Harry's mossy eyes didn't seem to want to leave Louis' face at all, as if he was meticulously studying every possible detail about him.

"What the matter, Lou?" Harry asked when Louis finally looked away. "Do you feel like going back?"

"No! Not at all!" he assured him, "Besides, I think our ride is out of juice."

"She's certainly asleep," Harry noted. He crouched down and patted one of Georgia's thin furry legs. "But there's always Air Harry," he fluttered his wings until they twinkled.

Louis offered him a small smile. "We probably shouldn't leave her alone."

The breeze rustled through the wildflowers and the low buzzing of cicadas sounded in the trees ahead. Though, the same buzzing seemed to be coming from inside him too, growing steadily with each minute thy passed.

"Why don't your tell me about where you're from, then," Louis suggested. Harry's eyes were still fixated on his, curiosity lighting them up from the inside. He both needed it to stop and never wanted it to. Either way, he was certainly going to turn himself inside out if he didn't distract them both.

"You mean the Faerie Court?"

Louis raised his eyebrows. "Court? As in royal court?" Harry nodded and blushed. "You have a king?" he asked and Harry nodded. "And a queen?" He nodded again. "And likely some spoiled little heirs too, flying around with their silver spoons. Do fairies use spoons?"

Harry coughed and changed the subject. "We could go through the entire royal family tree, Louis, or we could talk about more interesting things."

"I don't know, a royal court in my backyard is quite interesting to me."

"It's not that close. See?" Louis followed Harry's arm as it pointed off into the horizon towards a cluster of tall trees that reached up into the sky like five points on a crown of evergreen.

"Well that's nice and vague of you, Harry," Louis responded with an eye roll.

Harry shrugged. "We're meant to be mysterious, I suppose."

Louis stared at the trees and smiled to himself. He couldn't admit out loud that the thought of more fairies, and more people somewhat like him in the distance, made his heart patter in his chest, but it did. Most of him was still waiting to wake up from this dream where curly-haired fairies show up at his window. His sheltered life hadn't prepared him for any sort of interaction, least of all an enchanted one.

But even still, Louis' was feeling his great fear of the unknown that sat thick and knotted at his core slowly start to unravel into pure excitement, as though it was being spun into gold. He wasn't sure how he was going to return to his normal life tomorrow.

Harry casually slumped down against Georgia's sleeping body and lifted his hands up behind his head. When he caught Louis still standing idly across the flower, Harry reached his hand out and patted the space beside him. 

"There's room for one more, you know."


End file.
